Put in to bat, hosts Himachal Pradesh were 228 for five on the opening day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Group match against Delhi in Dharamsala on Saturday.

Himachal skipper Sandeep Sharma, who scored nine runs, was caught plumb in front of the wicket by Ishant Sharma in the ninth over.

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Paras Dogra and Manvinder Bisla were at the crease at individual scores of 32 and 39 respectively at the draw of stumps.

Delhi's spinner Chetanya Nanda claimed three wickets while pacers Amit Bhandari and Ishant took one wicket each. Delhi skipper Virender Sehwag [Images] bowled 14 overs without any success.

Scoreboard:
Himachal Pradesh (1st innings):
Mohnish Gupta c Bhandari b Nanda 49
Sandeep Sharma lbw Ishant 9
Mukesh Sharma lbw Nanda 40
Ajay Mannu c Bisht b Bhandari 4
Barun Sharma lbw Nanda 22
Paras Dogra batting 32
Manvinder Bisla batting 39
Extras 33
Total (for five wickets) 228

Bowling: Amit Bhandari 19-5-33-1, Ishant Sharma 20-4-72-1, Parwinder Awana 13-4-24-0, Rajat Bhatia 2-1-3-0, Chetanya Nanda 26-8-56-3, Virender Sehwag 14-5-28-0